P52: Babies!

Whew- I almost didn't get this posted in time! This month I'm focusing on the wee ones.  Here's a clever little peanut, stealing peanuts!

You can see what happens to those peanuts here.

Drawing this elephant reminded me of my favorite Disney movie, Dumbo and this scene:



I made the mistake of watching this during both of my pregnancies, and of course I was blubbering by the end of it. *sigh*

P52: Love of Dance #2

Spring is in the air! The sun is shining, bugs are buzzing, and you can practically hear the plants sigh in pleasure.

You can see the slightly edited, color version of this sketch here.

P52: Love of Dance #1

I know that a dancing hippo has become cliche, ever since a certain someone did a little movie called Fantasia. (Seriously, do a search for dancing hippo!) However, I was inspired by a teething toy that my daughter has taken a lot of delight in recently, and what better way to warm up than getting those cliches out of the system?

 

It'll be interesting to see which forms of dance will inspire me this month, there are just so many to choose from!

Project 52: The Sweet Stuff #4

Technically, this is a cheat, since it's not a new sketch, but it's been one of those days. However, I do plan on putting this in my portfolio once it's painted, so it counts towards my goal of 12 full-color pieces.

This is my sketch for The Baker. That's right, "the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker..." Can you find the other two? A few more details to add, and I think this sketch will be ready to become a full color piece!

Project 52: The Sweet Stuff #3

What's sweeter than friendship?

I'm multi-tasking this week with this illustration. It's over at The Sketchables, is the basis for my Illustration Friday post later this week, and I'm also planning on putting a version of this image in my portfolio.  I thought this would work, but realized I needed to amp it up a bit and put a little more action in there. So these two will be enjoying each other's company in a more dynamic way. I still like this sweet scene, though.

Project 52: The Sweet Stuff #2

I wanted to get caught up on the project so here's my second sketch!

I used an experience I had making cookies not too long ago. (Except in my case I remembered the sugar  before I stuck the cookies in the oven.)  The first panel is what I started out with, and the rest of the story just popped in as I was completing it. I may do more comic pages this year. They're fun to do!

Project 52: The Sweet Stuff #1

January's theme is "The Sweet Stuff."

"Mud Pies" inspired by my own sweet baby.

Project 52

This is the year I'm putting it all out there. I've held back until now because I didn't feel prepared enough, or my work wasn't strong enough, or I needed to learn one more technique. Well, I've decided that there is never a "right" time, that nothing is ever perfect, and you just have to go for it!

One of the areas I need to put the most energy into is building my portfolio. As much as I enjoy the pieces that currently make it up, I am sorely lacking in representing certain subjects that pretty much symbolize children's illustration: cars, for example!

To amend this, I will pick a theme each month that represents a subject I feel I need more of in my my portfolio.  I will dedicate myself to creating at least one sketch a week in response to that theme, and in order to hold myself accountable, I will publish the sketches every week on this blog on Tuesdays. (There, I've said it, OUT LOUD!) The goal is to have fifty-two sketches by year's end with at least twelve solid, full-color pieces that can be considered portfolio-worthy. Simple, yes?

(And yes, this was inspired by Illustration Friday, but the themes will be suiting my purposes, and there is a lot less pressure because I only have to take ideas to sketch level. If I really love an idea I will then create a full-color piece.)

January's theme is "The Sweet Stuff." Here is my first sketch, "Mud Pies" inspired by my own sweet baby.

(Oh, and if for some reason you want to play along, let me know!  Maybe you can put a link to your blog post in the comments or something. The more the merrier and all that.)